Method of treating metal rods.



V. E. EDWARDS.

METHOD 0F TREATING METAL RODS. APPLICATION man Nov. lo.- 1915.

Patented July 3, 1917.

fnl/enfer:

N www@ UNTTED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

VICTOR E. EDWARDS, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A`SSGNOR TO MORGAN CON- STRUCTION COMPANY, 0F WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

1,232,014. Specication of METHOD OF TREATING METAL RODS.

Letters Patent. Patented July 3, 1917.

Application tiled November 10, 19.15. Serial N o. 60,806.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, VICTOR E. EDWARDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Worcester, in the county of Worcester and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in a Method of Treating Metal Rods, of which the following, together with the accompanyin drawings, is a specification.

he present invention relates to a method of treating metal rods, and has particular reference to the treatment of wire rods as they emerge from the finishing pass of a rolling mill, whereby cooling of the same, or treatment, designed to arrest or prevent oxidization thereof, in any well known manner, is facilitated.

The invention resides in the several steps employed to expose, .as completely as possi'- ble, the entire surface of each rod to the action of the selected cooling or deoxidizing medium, in such a manner as to render most convenient the subsequent handling and transportation of the rodv so exposed. The features of my improved method of treatment are fully set forth in the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preerred arrangement of apparatus for carrying the several steps into practice, and in which- .Figure 1 is a side view, partly in section, of said apparatus.

Fig.v 2 is a fragmentary sectional view, on the line 2-2, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic yrepresentation of the position which a rod assumes during its treatment by the reducing agent.

Similar reference characters refer to similar arts in the different figures.

eretofore, in the treatment of wire rods emerging from the finishing passes 'of a rollin mill, it has been .the usual practice to coil the rods, while hot, into conveniently handled bundles, and, if-desired, to cool said bundles by passing them through a chamber containing a non-oxidizin atmosphere, in order to prevent the furt er oxidizing ac-- tion of the air during the period of cooling. However, it is clear that such treatment, whileserving to arrest further oxidization of the rods, does not affect lthe oxid 'already formed on the surface of the'rods by reason of their exposure to 4the atmosphere while being rolled, and previous to their introduction, in coiled form, into the cooling chamber. It is clear, moreover, that the compact coiling of the rods, as `heretofore practised, prevents the complete exposure of the rods durin the period of cooling, and thus has rendere useless, in the past, any attempt to subject the coils to a deoxidizing or reducing atmosphere for the purpose of removing the oxid already formed on the rods. The present; inventiomas hereinafter particularly described, contemplates a method of treatment by which the rod, emerging from the mill, is so coiled, while hot, that there is practically a complete exposure of its surfaces during the period of cooling, whereby the action of a deoxidizing medium may be rendered effective with respect to the entire surface of the rod, serving not only to arrest` completely all further oxidization, but also to remove oxid lwhich has already formed by exposing to the air during rolling. Flurthermore, the improved method employed enables the rods, after cooling as above described, to be formed readily into compact coils, suitableJ for subsequent handling and transportation in the usual manner.

The particular arrangement of a Ms which I deem preferable for carrgiii vimproved method into practice will novil be described in detail, but it is to be understood that such apparatus is illustrative merely, a'nd that my invention is not limited to the herein described or any other particular form of apparatus.

Referring to Fig. 1, the numeral 1 designates a stand of rolls constituting the finishing'pass of a rolling mill, the same being of ordinary construction, and equipped with the usual delivery guide 2. In advance of the stand of rolls 1,' a bracket 3 provides a vertical bearing 4: for a shaft 5, rotated by -fany well known means, such as a pulley 6 'and belt 7, fromthe shaft which drives theI iinishing rolls. Below the shaft 5 the bracket 3 has a shelf 8 which provides a lbearing socket, in axial alinement with shaft 5, for a spherical enlargement 9 formed intermediate the ends lof a rod 10. The upper 1.05"

end of rod 10 -hasaspherical tip 11, received ioo` within an axially offset socket in the lower end' of shaft 5, `Near itslower end the rod 10 is enlarged, as at 12, to'form a. curved tubular guide section, the lower end of which projects through a floatin flange or washer 13, for a purpose hereina ter set forth.

Above this tubular section 12 a curved tubular guide member 14 is pivoted at 15 to the rod 10 and extends rearwardly and upwardly into telescoping relation to the delivery guide 2, being supported at. its other end 4upona bracket 16, which provides a guideway 17 for said end of member 14 to compel its reciprocation in alinement with the delivery guide 2. As w1ll be apparent, the rotation of the shaft 5 imparts a circular movement, of relatively small raldius to the lower end of the rod 10; the

pivotal connection 15 of the member 14 with said rod likewise moves in a circle, of still smaller radius, thereby reciprocating the member 14 back and forth in the guideway 17. By' the operation of the above described mechanism, a rod emerging from the finishing pass of the mill is directed downwardly throu h the curved closed conduit constituted y the delivery guide 2,` the member 14 and the lower end 12 of the rod l0; the movement of said lower end, in a circular path,-` and at a lower linear velocity than the wlocitv imparted to the rod by the rolls l, muses the rod to be laid in circular turns of greater radius than the circular path of the lower and 12 of rod 10.

Below the lower end 12 of the coil laying member 10 is disposed a coil'supporting surfa ce( which, in the present instance, takes llu form of a constantly moving conveyer belt orl apron 20, which may be of the endless type, plassing around rolls 21, 21. The speed of t is conveyer is so' related to the speed lof the laying mechanism, that each turn of the rod laid by the above-described coililrllcr mechanism becomes ollset rearwardly of a therefore, non-concentric to the next preceding turn, but overlaps-'the same, as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and3, the result being that practically the entire surface of a rod so coiled, except at the two points where adjacent turns intersect each other` isexposed. In this way, uniform cooling of -the rod is insured, as the coil thus formed, comprising a series of non-concentric in- 'clined turns, isV carried forward on the conveyer. Furthermore, by inclosing the conveyer in atunnel 22, having preferably a water cooled roof 23, with a rusto-conical entering assa e 24 for the rod which is bein lai eac rod so coiled may be uniform and completely exposed to the action of a eoxidizing medium, introduced to the tunnel through' a suitable pipe 25. The oating flange 13 surrounding the rotating rod 10 covers the upper end of passage 24 to prevent the escape of the treating medium from the tunnel.

The removal of each coil from the conveyer, at the extreme forward endy thereof,

is accomplished by an arm 26 pivoted at 27 on a movable truck 28, and having an extension 29 which issupported, normally, so as to intercept the successive non-concentric turns of each coil as they reach the extreme end of the conveyer, causing successive turns of the coil to be' strung upon said arm, as the supporting surface of the conveyer moves downwardly around the forward roll 21. In this way the support of the coil is transferred from the conveyer to the extension 29, the successive turns of the coil assuming, by gravity, a regular concentric relation with respect to each other as the support of the conveyer is withdrawn; when the arm is tipped up, about its pivot, the turns are compacted thereon, by gravity, thereby forming a coil suitable for handling and transportation in the usual manner.

I claim,

1. The within described method of treating wire rods, comprising the coiling of a rod in successive non-concentric turns, subjecting the rod so coiled to a treating medium, and assembling said turns in concentric form. i

2. The within described method of treating wire rods, comprising the advancement, by longitudinal movement, of a rod, the coiling of said rod on a supporting surface, with each turn thereof overlap ingL but oset from, the preceding turn o the coil, and the cooling of the rod so coiled in a reducing atmosphere.

3. The within described method of treating wirerods, comprising the coiling of a rodn a continuously movin supporting surface, whereby each turn o the coil is laid eccentrically to the next precedin turn, and the cooling of the rod so coile in a reducing atmosphere.

4. The within described method of treating wire rods, comprising the 1aying,upon a support, of a rod in a coil having its successive turns eccentric, the cooling of said coil, and the assembling of said turns' in.

substantially concentric ment of said support.,

5. The within described method of treat-v ing wire rods, comprising the advancement, by longitudinal movement, of a rod, the progressive coiling of said advancing. rod on a supporting surface, the movement of said supporting surface during the coiling rm, by the moveof said rod, to ,offset successive turns ofthe coil, the cooling of said coil durin movement, and the assembling of sai turns in substantially concentric form, by 'the subsequent movement surface.

6. The within described method of treat.- ing wire rods, comprising the laying of a continuous rod upon a support, in such a.

of said supporting Amanner as to expose substantially the en- 'said 'nirel thereof, the trement `of the phere, and the coiling and cooluing of said rod solelid by e reducin 'medium `and the rods in said reducing atmo here. 10 compacting `of salid rod llto a e011 havin Dated thisrst day of oveniber, 1915. concentric convo utions "y movement o 5 said support. l n` VICTOR E. EDWARDS. 7. The within described method of treat Wltnesses:

' wire rods,` comprising the delivery of Wmmnp A. WINX,

from a mill 111110l a redncing mi'mc'rs-` PAMI 

